Celebrating Inclusion of Children with Disabilities by Sharing Their Stories
Inclusive School Week
The time for INCLUSION is now!
Download Sneak Peak of Waylen's Book
Finding My Way books celebrate children with disabilities by sharing their stories. For Inclusive School Week we share a sneak peek at Waylen’s story from Waylen Wants to Jam/ Waylen quiere improviser.
Waylen’s book is part of the six-book Finding My Way series available in English and bilingual English/Spanish titles. Click on Waylen’s book cover to read the first eight pages of his story.
Introduction: Waylen is a 3rd grader. He has always loved to drum. When he was little, he would bang on things around the house to make noise. He older brother started playing the drum and he wanted to learn to play the drum, too. Waylen was the first autistic child to be on the drumline in his community.
Understanding disabilities: Children born with autism think and feel differently. It is often hard for them to communicate because they don’t understand how others think and feel. But they can learn. Like all children they have their own interests and want to be included
Here’s a fun activity to do after reading your sneak peak of Waylen’s story.
Waylen tells us how to drum by counting 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. When you play the drum, you need to count the beats.
Have each student find a place they want to drum. Practice counting the beats and drumming together. You can sing a song to drum to or count out loud together: one and two and three and four, repeating the phrase and hitting the drum with each number. You can jam together!!!